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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 


Agricultural Experiment Station. 


URBANA, APRIL, 1900. 


BULLETIN No. 509. 


ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 


The Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Illinois 
has been closely studying the fruit interests of the state, and especially 
during the last three years attention has been directed to the actual 
needs and conditions of orchards and other fruit plantations of the com- 
monwealth. During this time visits have been made to many fruit 
plantations in 64 of the 102 counties of Illinois. During the past year 
a representative of this Station personally visited a number of fruit areas 
in ten counties of southern Illinois; sevenin central and western Illinois; 
and seven in northern Illinois. The apple received more thought and 
study than any of the other Illinois fruits, for in the southern third of 
the state it is the main fruit crop, while in central and northern Illinois 
it has a large and increasing place with the landholding class. Not 
only is the apple the leading fruit of the state, but no crop, whether 
grown by farmer or commercial orchardist is so universally uncared for 
as is this king of fruits. This fact is due in great measure to negligence, 
yet in many instances to lack of proper knowledge of the fundamental 
principles of orcharding. This’ bulletin has therefore been written for 
the Illinois farmers and fruit growers with the hope that its contents 
may awaken and encourage a new interest in this subject, and also with 
the purpose of presenting the latest and best teaching on the different 
phases of orchard management. 


372 BULLETIN NO. 59.  [4pril, 


Soil and climatic conditions vary so greatly in the state, and some- 
times even within the same county that no attempt will be made to lay 
down specific and definite rules. General principles will therefore be 
discussed, the operator being left to apply them with such modifications 
as are necessary to meet his own peculiar or local conditions. 


REASONS FOR.UNPRODUCTIVE ORCHARDS. 


Observations and studies carried on in these many fruit plantations 
above referred to, and also on the Experiment Station grounds at 
Champaign leads the Station to offer the following as some of the many 
reasons why the Illinois orchards are often unproductive. 

(1) Too many growers are expecting a crop to be given them with- 
out putting forth any efforts themselves. after the trees have been set. 
The apple trees require the same careful attention as do other farm crops. 

(2) Lack of moisture is a common cause.of failure to the apple 
grower in this state, especially in southern Illinois. This is because 
grass and other crops are allowed to compete with the trees for the 
moisture supplied by rains. Water is just as essential to the apple tree 
on a hot summer’s day as it is to the laborer in the harvest field. 

(3) Injuries resulting from attacks of insects or of fungous diseases 
are a very common cause of failure. These depredators will probably 
always consider that they have as much right to the products of the 
- farm as does the farmer himself. For this reason he must get his artil- 
lery and ammunition and fight the enemy. 

(4) Lack of fertility is a very common cause of failure in southern, 
western, and some sections of northern, Illinois. The apple orchard can 
not produce a profitable crop unless provided with an ample supply of 
nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. 

(5) Some orchards in this state which have come to the notice of 
this Station are unprofitable because of improper pruning or lack of 
pruning. Light and air are essential for the development and ripening 
of the apple. : 

(6) Many varieties of apple trees have been planted without any 


thought given to their adaptability to the particular soil or climate. 


Loss in apple growing is often wholly a matter of varieties. 


(7) Trees propagated from unproductive stock have been respon-— . 


sible for many failures. Scions should be selected from bearing trees 
or those which have demonstrated their ability for productiveness. 

(8) Sterility as a result of planting an orchard of only one variety 
is a common cause of failure, in part at least. Cross fertilization is de- 
sirable with all fruits. 

(9) Excessive climatic conditions, as the February freeze of 1899, 
or the killing of the blossoms by frost, are oftentimes responsible for 
unproductiveness. 


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7900. ] ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 373 


ORCHARD CULTIVATION. 


. The orchardist should cultivate his orchard for the same reason 
that the dairyman feeds and waters his herd. This is because all forms 
of life are fundamentally of one character. In other words there is a 
common basis of life existing among all living beings—and this common 
~unity is found to exist in the protoplasm (the living active principle) of 
_ the cells which make up these beings. All work, therefore, whether it 
be the developing of an apple or the secreting of milk, implies waste 
and this waste is directly or indirectly that of protoplasm. The proto- 
plasm of plants is made out of mineral compounds while protoplasm of 
animals is made from plants. This thenis a difference between the two, | 
yet their composition is alike. All this is only another way of saying 
that all labor expended, even in maintaining life, means a loss of vital 
force which must be supplied. The dairyman’s herd would not be pro- 
ductive were not this waste supplied in the form of food and water. 
Left to themselves as were the buffalos, they doubtless could maintain 
life. So with the orchard; if left to itself, as is often the case, it may 
live and even produce fruit. But if it is to be productive in a commer- 
cial sense, it must be liberally fed and watered. This is best and most 
economically done by good cultivation. Cultivation, then, is the first 
and fundamental principle which needs not even the exception to prove 
it a positive rule for successful orcharding. 

All intelligent cultivation of the orchard rests upon the fact that 
the soil is a storehouse of plant food and also a reservoir for catching 
and holding water. If the orchard is not cultivated the root system of 
the trees can not penetrate deeply into the soil for its food and water 
supply. The first great benefit, therefore, coming from this operation 
is the pulverizing of the soil, thus giving a greater root-feeding area ang 
at the same time deepening the soil itself. All of this implies an early 
warming and drying of the soil in the springtime, because when the 
texture of the soil is poor, that is, when the soil particles become 


__ cemented together as the result of heavy rains or injudicious plowing, - 


the land is cold and the root system can not penetrate it or even appro- 
priate the plant food within reach. This pulverizing of the soil also 
means a lessening of the extremes of temperature and moisture. The 
first great office of tillage then is that of improving the mechanical con- 
dition or the texture of the soil. For this reason this Station is opposed 
to the application of fertilizers to orchard soils until the land has been 
so improved in its physical condition that the plant can use what is al- 
ready in the soil. ; 

- The second great office of cultivation is that of supplying or saving 
the moisture which is needed in such large quantities by orchard fruits. 
Nature annually supplies the Illinois farmer with an abundance of water 
for his crops, but the trouble seems to be that the supply comes at a 


BULLETIN NO. 59. [April 


374 


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376 ; BULLETIN NO. 59. [Aprzd, 


time when least needed. A little investigation, however, readily shows 
us that this supply should come mainly when the plants are inactive. 
Further, that because of its physical possibilities the soil can be made 
to retain this water until needed during the dry summer months. Itisa 
fact that the soil particles hold water in the form of a film on their sur- 
face. The surface area of these particles depends on their number or 
the fineness of the soil. This is readily seen by comparing a cubic foot 
of marbles 1 inch in diameter with a cubic foot composed of particles 
sooo Of an inch in diameter.- In the first we have an aggregate surface 
area, according to King, of 27.7 square feet, in the latter instance of 
37,700 square feet. This fining of the soil is secured by thorough 
drainage, hand in hand with judicious and careful cultivation of the 
soil. If the soil is not well drained naturally, it should be tile- 
drained, as this is the greatest corrective of hard, impervious soils. 
It is this removal of superfluous water that prevents the soil particles 
from cementing together in wet weather and that allows the moisture 
to come from greater depths to the surface where plants may use it 
during the dry months. 

But this increasing of the water-holding capacity of the soil must 
be supplemented by a retentive force which will check capillarity at the 
surface of the soil. The water moves by capillary attraction to the sur- 
face where it is evaporated—explained in the same manner as the upward 
movement of oil in the lamp-wick, or of ink in the blotting-pad. By 
the breaking up. of these capillary spaces next the surface, evaporation 
will be checked. In the same way a mulching of the surface prevents 
€vaporation. No mulch is so good and economical as a dust mulch 
procured by cultivation. This same operation having broken up the 
capillary pores conserves the moisture by checking the evaporation. 
But it is useless to commence this checking process late in the season 
when drought is already apparent. No amount of cultivation at this 
time can correct the fault which should have been prevented weeks be- 
fore. The careful orchardist will cultivate early in the spring—or as 
soon as the land will permit it—repeating the operation at least once a 
week, unless frequent rains should make such an operation needless. 
As soon as a shower has passed and the land has become crusted and 
dry on top the harrow should be put to work remaking this dust 
mulch. Cultivation should commence early in the season, but can 
usually be stopped early in August, at which time the trees have com- 
pleted their growth and have commenced to ripen up their wood and 
fruit prior to the inactivity of winter. At this time much will be gained 
by a cover crop—the cow pea, vetch, or clover being used as a rule. 
‘These cover crops are valuable because they hold the soil in the best 
physical condition and prevent some of the plant food from escaping, 
as well as add positive fertility to the soil when plowed under in the 


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7900. | ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 377 


spring. Such crops serve to catch and retain the snow—an important 
winter protection. ; 

There is still another benefit derived from orchard cultivation— 
that of increasing the chemical activities of the soil. Air and warmth 
are just as essential to the chemical processes going on within the soil 
as is water. The soil is full of minute organisms increasing the neces- 
sary nitrates and other food materials required by the plant. Such 
activities are greatly decreased and sometimes prevented because of lack 
of cultivation. Cultivation would have supplied the air and warmth and 
consequent food supply for the plant. 

If these statements are true—and both science and practice prove 
they are—what then is the proper treatment of the soil for the Illinois 
orchard during its lifetime? The ground should be in a thorough state 
of cultivation at the time the trees are set, and during the first year no 
crop should come within three feet of the young tree—this space to 
widen each year. If the soil has been subsoiled and deeply pulverized 
the root system will go far down; at least the tendency will be in that 
direction. On the intervening spaces between these trees should be 
grown some secondary crop and one which admits of cultivation. This 
method allows the orchardist to get a paying return from his land while 
the trees are establishing themselves. But in no instance should a crop 
for the crop’s sake be taken from the orchard after the trees have come 
into bearing. The greatest difficulty in fruit growing in Illinois has 
arisen from the fact that these annual returns have enticed the orchardist 
away,from the primary object of the plantation, which is fruit growing. 
The yearly growing of corn or grain or of a hay crop (Fig. 1) forgetting to 
care for the trees themselves, would cause an ultimate loss in fruit produc- 
tion ten times greater than the gain derived from the annual secondary 
crops. But you say—the corn plant shades the ground and therefore 
prevents evaporation of soil moisture. Did you ever stop to think that 
the transpiration of moisture from the leaf surface of the corn is greater 
twice over than that lost by evaporation, from the soil, with the poorest 
system of cultivation? Now soil, in order to do its best work, that is 
supply the paying quantities of plant food, must be within 4o % to 50 % 
of saturation. Or—to state the point another way—the normal soil to the 
depth of one foot in good state of cultivation contains about 4000 barrels 
of water per acre. The corn transpires from its leaf surface about 200 
tons of water for each ton of dry matter produced. This means a loss 
of more than 100 gallons of water a day per acre during the corn grow- 
ing season. The apple tree on the other hand, according to carefully 
conducted experiments by Anders and Dr. Burrill, transpires 250 gal- 
lons, or if there are 35 trees per acre, which is 35 feet apart each way, 
8750 gallons in 24 hours from every acre. The enormous quantity of 
water taken up and given off by our apple trees requires a careful con- 


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380 BULLETIN NO. 59. [Aprié, 


serving or retaining of the water which nature furnishes early in the 
season. If then we grow corn in the orchard expecting thereby to aid 
~ in this supply we are deceiving ourselves and robbing the trees and con- 
sequently robbing our bank deposits as well. 

But the fact should be emphasized that the success of the orchard 
or the degree of profit returned from the investment will be measured 
more accurately by the thoroughness of the early treatment of the orchard 
than by anything else. These arguments are not intended for the dairy- 
man or stock raiser who uses his land primarily for pasture or hay and 
whose orchard is simply a secondary or catch-crop consideration. If 
such a man secures paying returns by these other avenues of production, 
certainly he is entitled to what fruit may be produced as a secondary 
crop. But the great number of Illinois orchards are unprofitable be- 
cause we have been deceived by annual returns gathered, or by second- 
ary crops, and have therefore neglected such treatment as would make 
profitable returns from the trees themselves. If the orchardist is grow- 
ing apples for the money there is in the business, he cannot afford to 
excuse his negligence and loss by saying that Mr. Brown or Mr. Smith 
got paying returns from orchard fruits in cropped or sod lands... Be- 
cause an orchard has done well in sod does not say that it would not 
have done better in cultivation. Finally, speaking one word to the 
man with the unprofitable old orchard:—If you are satisfied with the 
returns from the same, continue as you are doing; otherwise give culti- 
vation which is the basis of successful orchard management, and follow 
it up with pruning, spraying, and the other necessary means to success. 

The actual cultivation of the orchard is neither a hard nor compli- 
cated operation. The tools used are such as are found, or at least 
should be found, on every well-managed farm. The plough, which is 
the greatest and most economic pulverizer of the soil, should. be used 
for the first spring cultivation, especially in the young orchard. Any of 
the ordinary breaking plows will be found entirely satisfactory. This 
implement is usually followed by the disc and spring-tooth harrows. 
Even in orchards not plowed, especially old ones, the disc harrow will 
be found entirely satisfactory. It can be made to cut even stiff blue- 
grass sod and should always be used for reducing the lumps resulting 
from fresh plowing. Its action, however, is such as to leave the soil 
in small ridges, thus increasing the surface area exposed to evaporation 
by wind and sun. It should therefore be followed with some smoothing 
harrow which gives a more even and more finely pulverized surface. 
Most lands, especially those having a tendency to cement together dur- 
ing heavy rains, will require a thorough discing as soon as the land. be- 
comes sufficiently dry. This followed by the smoothing harrow and the 
operation repeated at intervals of one week during the period of no rain, 
or drouth, will thoroughly conserve the soil water by forming a blanket 


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7900. } ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. ; 381 


or dust layer which is the best kind of mulch. The most important tool, 
therefore, after the early operations which have deeply pulverized the 
soil, is the fine-toothed smoothing harrow. ‘The spring-tooth harrow is 
a very desirable implement for breaking the crust after heavy rains, 
answering the purpose as well if not better than the disc harrow besides 
being much easier on the team. 

The cultivation should be carried as near to the trunks of trees as 
is possible. The tools mentioned above allow of working close to the 
trees provided they are not headed below three or four feet. Even in 
such a case, especially with some varieties, overhanging tops interfere 
unless the harness used has no projecting hames or terrets. According 
to the experience of this Station the Sherwood harness is one of the most 
satisfactory for this kind of work. It has no whiffletrees with which to 
scar or bruise the trees and no other projections of any kind. 

The cost of cultivation is a most important consideration and 
should not be overlooked in this discussion. Our best growers in this 
state have found that the cultivation of an orchard costs less than that 
required by corn or any other farm crop. ‘The exact expenditure, how- 
ever, will be governed entirely by the conditions existing in each or- 
chard and by the weather conditions. It has been found at this Station 
(Fig. 6) that $16 per acre covers the cost of discing three times, and 
harrowing three times with the spring-tooth harrow and seven times 
with the smoothing harrow. This may seem high indeed for a single 
season’s outlay, but when it is remembered that there are fifty trees to 
the acre in this orchard it will be seen that the cost per tree was but 
thirty-two cents for the season. Moreover, these trees bore heavily, 
kept a luxuriant foliage to the end of a very dry season, made an excel- 
lent growth, and went into the winter in first-class condition with plenty 
of fruit buds for next season’s crop; all of which emphasizes the fact 
that the actual cost was comparatively low when compared with the 
benefit derived therefrom. 


PRUNING ORCHARDS. 


During several years the Illinois Experiment Station has been con- 
ducting experiments in pruning fruit trees. Results of these experiments 
will appear in detail in a separate publication. These investigations 
convince us that the practice of pruning apple trees is one too often 
neglected in this state. It seems well, therefore, to say a few words on 
the subject at the present time. 

Pruning is the removal of superfluous branches, thus allowing a 
free circulation of air in the tree tops; and admitting light to the remain- 
ing inner branches of the tree. Its object is simply that of securing 
more and better fruit. When trees are leftsto themselves the branches 
crowd one another and do not give sufficient room and sunlight and air 


382 BULLETIN NO. 59. [Aprit, 


for the developing of fruit on the inner branches. Moreover, fruit 
which is developed on unpruned trees can not be readily protected from 
apple scab and codling moth, as wellas other diseases and insects. The 
cost of spraying is much less in point of time and material saved on trees 


which are judiciously pruned. Cultivation, too, is carried on with 


greater ease and effectiveness in the pruned orchard. Harvesting of 
fruit also is greatly facilitated in those trees which are properly pruned. 

The ideal pruning is that which commences in the nursery rows 
when the trees are a year old and continued each year until the trees 
have served their usefulness in the orchard where they have borne fruit 
for many years. It is therefore an operation which commences with the 
nurseryman, and it is his office to see that the trees are symmetrical and 
with the limbs at the proper distance from the ground. The best and 
in fact the common way with the majority of nurserymen is to remove, 
just after they have started, the buds which are found below the point 
where the head of the tree is to be and other undesirable places. This 
is readily and quickly done by rubbing off these young shoots or buds 
with the hands. It may be necessary to repeat this operation during 
the first one or two seasons. The second season when the trees are 
transplanted remove all superfluous limbs close to the body of the tree 
with a sharp knife, cutting back the remaining three to six fully one-half 
of the previous year’s growth. This is the time when the orchardist 
should receive the tree, yet it is common practice to wait until the plant 
has attained its second or third year. In any case, the year the trees 
are finally set in the orchard they should be well headed in, cutting toa 
bud, which on upright varieties will be left on the outside and on the 
more straggling varieties, as the Minkler, is left on the inside. This 
bud is to form the new limb and take its place with its fellows in form- 
ing the main branches of the tree. If one desires higher headed trees 
than those which the nurseryman has to furnish he simply needs to take 
up a leader, starting the head at the desired point and removing the 
lower branches. Each year after the trees are planted they should be 
gone over carefully, and a limb removed here or there, the object being to 
prevent rubbing of branches and to allow the top to be free and open. 
(Fig. 8.) The best time to do this, all things considered, is, for Illinois, 
during the months of March and April. The orchardist has more leisure 
at this time, the limbs can be clearly seen against the sky and the tree 
does not suffer as it does when wounded during the colder months. 

As stated above the best pruning is that which is done with the 
hand by rubbing off the buds before the undesirable limbs have had an 
opportunity to develop to any greatextent. If the operation is repeated 
each year there will never be any large limbs to remove; at least a saw 
will rarely be required. Wherever possible the pruning knife or the 
pruning shears should be used instead of the saw. Try to make as 


Yai 


rgoo. | ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 383 


3 


smooth a cut as possible. After the orchard has been gone over with 
respect to pruning, all wounds left thereby should receive a coat of white 
lead paint which has been mixed with linseed oil. There are many 
other materials used for this purpose, but our experiments here seem to 
show that white lead paint is the most desirable from the point of ex- 
pense and efficiency. 

In concluding these brief remarks on the subject of pruning the 
fact expressed above must be reiterated, that this is an operation too 
commonly neglected by the Illinois orchardists. 


ORCHARD FERTILITY. 


The notion prevails in the minds of many apple growers that apple 
trees do not require as much plant food proportionately as do other 
crops. That this notion is wholly erroneous is shown by the result of 
carefully conducted experiments by Roberts published in Bulletin 103 
of the Cornell University Experiment Station. These show that the 
growing of thirty-five apple trees per acre, which makes the distances 
between trees thirty-five feet, in twenty years production of foliage and 
fruit, averaging ten bushels per tree, requires plant food in the form of 
nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid in value amounting to $207.45. 
This twenty years commences with the time the trees are thirteen years 
of age, continuing until they are thirty-three years old and it is assumed 
that during the five years from thirteen to eighteen they would average 
five bushels per tree per year, ten bushels per tree per year during the 
next five and fifteen bushels per tree per year during the remaining ten 
years. This, however, does not take into account the enormous amount 
of fertility which was required to develop the great amount of wood rep- 
resented by thirty-five trees per acre. Compare this with the amount 
of fertility removed by a wheat crop. In twenty years cropping with an 
average yield of fifteen bushels per acre and seven pounds of straw to 
three pounds of grain, the total value is $128.23 removed in the shape of. 
nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid, or $79.22 less than that required 
to supply the waste.in fruit and leaves of the apple orchard. 

No intelligent farmer would expect to grow wheat on the same area 
for twenty years without the best of cultivation and fertilizing; yet 
everywhere we find apple growers asking their soil to support a much 
greater drain than wheat would cause. It is known that some fruit 
growers are asking their land to support apple trees for forty years in 
addition to annual secondary crops, and this, too, without giving 
manures or even cultivation. (See Fig. 3.) 

The question of the fertility of orchard soil is one which has hith- 
erto received little or no attention from Illinois fruit growers. This is 
largely because of the fact that throughout a large portion of the state 
the soil is exceedingly rich in plant food. In fact, a considerable area, 


BULLETIN NO. 59. [ Apri, 


384 


‘Cc ON Bundy 


1900. ] 


FicurE No, 6 


386 BULLETIN NO. 59. [April, 


especially the central portion, is so rich in the elements of plant food as 
often to cause an excessive growth of the woody portion of the tree, 
thereby diminishing its fruit production. On this account few growers 
of orchard fruits in what is termed the corn belt of the state would think 
for a moment of applying fertilizers to their orchard soil. This, how- 
ever, is no reason why the fruit growers in the southern third of the 
state or in parts of northern Illinois should think that their soil can be 
uniformly productive without the application of some of the elements of 
fertility either in the form of applied manures or by the growing of 
green crops. After a careful study of the question we are thoroughly 
convinced that there are hundreds of apple orchards in this state which 
are literally starving to death. In other words, these orchards are on 
soils whose fertility has either been exhausted or made unavailable by 
injudicious management. 

At this point it is necessary to define what is meant by the word 
_fertility. In its broadest sense fertility is a word used to designate the 
productive power of the soil. This productive power may be due in 
large measure to the physical condition of the soil rather than toa 
liberal supply of the chemical constituents necessary. for great produc- 
tivity. Oron the other hand a soil may be wholly unproductive yet 
contain excessive quantities of plant food, because of the poor physical 
condition of the soil. All this means that the plant food within the soil 
counts for nothing if the plant can not get it. We have already em- 
phasized the importance of thorough tillage for making available what 
plant food there is within the soil. Yet as above stated, even with the 
best management of the soil in this particular, it may still lose so much 
plant food that it is necessary to supply commercial fertilizers or other 
manures. 

Of the thirteen elements which the soil may contain and which may 
be used by plants only three are ever lost in such quantities as to make 
their restoration necessary. These are nitrogen, potassium, and phos- 
phorus. Of these three the one most readily lost is nitrogen. This 
element, which comprises four-fifths of the air, combined with other 
elements becomes available to the plant. It is the element which is 
responsible for the rapid development and early formation of our apple 
trees and other plants. Phosphorus, in the form of phosphoric acid, 
is necessary in order to give strength and firmness to plants and, next 
to nitrogen, is, all things considered, the most important element of 
plant food. While needed only in relatively small quantities by plants 
it is lacking in many soils. Potash comes next to phosphorus in im- 
portance and is the most important constituent for fruiting plants, at 
least those that are expending their energies in that direction. 

Vitrogen.—The yellowing of the foliage and stunted appearance of 
the tree is a pretty sure indication that the soil is deficient in nitrogen. 


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rgo0.)- > ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 387 


An insufficient supply of nitrogen tends to dwarf plants. Good stable 
manure, if well taken care of, that is, not allowed to leach by rains, will 
supply to the soil liberal quantities of this plant food. Other sources 
of nitrogen for plants are the various nitrates, ammonia, and some ani- 
mal or plant compounds. Sodium nitrate is the most important com- 
mercial fertilizer containing nitrogen. A hundred and twenty-five 
pounds of this salt would probably be the minimum amount per acre. 
But its use is advisable only after other means have failed. This might 
also be said of barn-yard manure. By all means the cheapest way of 
securing nitrogen is by thorough tillage, which increases or hastens nitri- 
fication, and by green manuring. If these two latter methods are prac- 
ticed there will rarely ever be occasion to resort to commercial fer- 
tilizers. 

By green manuring is meant the growing of some crop in the orchard, 
especially those leguminous or nitrogen forming plants, which, when 
turned under and decomposed, add nitrogen and other food material to 
the soil. The greatest good, however, derived from this operation is~ 
the addition to the soil of large quantities of humus or decaying vege- 
table matter which greatly improves the physical condition of the soil, 
thereby increasing its power to hold plant food and moisture. What 

crops are most advisable for this purpose depends almost entirely upon 

soil and climatic conditions. They are usually confined to some of the 
clovers, peas, beans, vetches, or lupines. Wherever clovers or vetches 
succeed well they should be used. In the greater portion of Illinois, 
however, especially in the southern part, cow peas and soy beans are in 
greatest favor. 

These leguminous plants are enabled to take up the free nitrogen of 
the air by virtue of small nodules or tubercles formed on their roots as 
a result of the activity of microscopic forms of life known as bacteria. 
It is now clearly known that if these organisms are not present in the 
soil the leguminous plants are unable to use the nitrogen of the air. As 
a result of this, soil inoculation is often resorted to. This simply con- - 
sists of taking soil where these plants are found to grow luxuriantly, and 
have an abundance of the tubercles above referred to, and sowing the 
same on a new area, a few handfuls of soil often sufficing for an acre of 
ground. The exact physiological processes gone through with by plants 
in securing this free nitrogen is not definitely known. 

Phosphorus.—Phosphoric acid is applied to the soil as a direct fer- 
tilizer in the form of superphosphates, bone compounds, etc. Dissolved 
South Carolina rock is a common commercial form of this manure. 
Usually, however, if soils are well cared for this element will not be 
lacking. 

Potash.—Potash may be secured in the form of muriate of potash, 
which is probably the most reliable. Kainit or German potash salts 


388 BULLETIN NO. 59. (April, 


and wood ashes are other forms of this commercial fertilizer, for the 
bearing orchard at least. Five hundred to seven hundred pounds of 
muriate of potash, or forty or fifty bushels of wood ashes, is a liberal 
dressing per acre for orchards. 

The following formula is suggested for Illinois orchard lands located 
outside of the ‘‘ black soil” areas: : 


SrOGGO bone ess ore eh sae ape ee Se 100 pounds. 
Acid phosphater noo i0 Geka ces oe tales a ee es 100 pounds, 
Muriate:of potashiys 25° age & aa pa chee Cates 100 pounds. 
Nitrate of soda..... PE re Cre ere COR Ee pee 125 pounds. 


This amount per acre applied in the springtime and either sewed 
under or disced into the soil will be found sufficient for those orchards 
bearing annual crops of fruit. The above formula, however, should be 
supplemented by special fertilizers or otherwise varied to suit any par- 
ticular orchard whose soil conditions are peculiar to itself. 

It should bé understood that this discussion does not encourage the 
use of commercial fertilizers. There are instances, however, where 
these must be resorted to. Illinois orchardists should largely confine 
themselves to cultivation and green manuring for supplying the neces- 
sary plant foods. 

SPRAYING. 

The spraying of horticultural plants with solutions to protect them 
from their many enemies is an operation with which the fruit growers all 
over the country are now more or less acquainted. It is, however, an 
operation coming at a season of the year when the farmer is busiest. 
This, together with the fact that it is attended with many disagreeable 
features, makes it necessary that the most accurate and condensed in- 
formation shall be given on the subject. For this reason the Illinois 
Experiment Station, as well as nearly all other State Experiment Sta- 
tions, is constantly experimenting with the new insecticides and fungi- .« 
cides which are put upon the market and at the same time getting the 
most accurate information on why, when, and how spraying should be 
done. 

If attention be limited to the spraying of apple trees for the pur- 
pose of protecting them from the ravages of the apple-scab fungus and 
the codling moth, the two most common and most destructive enemies 
to the apple growing industry of Illinois, the following is the best infor- 
mation that can be given upon that subject at the present time: 


APPLICATIONS. 


(1) Use always, excepting perhaps for first application, the com- 
bined mixtures of Bordeaux and Paris green. The former is for the apple- E 
scab fungus, while the latter is for the insect, codling moth. They are oF 
both just as effective when applied together and time and money are 
saved thereby. Make these solutions according to formulas given below. 


; ie 


1900. ] ; ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. ; 389 


(2) The frst application of the Bordeaux mixture (1, page 391) 
should be made to the trees after the leaf buds have commenced to ex- 
-pand and may be continued until the flower buds open. This space of 
time will vary greatly with different varieties. 

(3) The second application of the Bordeaux-Paris green solution 
(4, page 393) should be made immediately after the blossoms fall and 
may be continued indefinitely. Do not under any circumstances delay 
this second application. The sooner it can be done after the blossoms 
have fallen the greater will be the results obtained. The blossoming 
period, therefore, governs the operator and he should not depend upon 
anything or anybody else, but allow the tree to determine when he should 
commence. From fifty to ninety per cent. of the fruit that would other- 
wise be ruined by. the codling moth can be saved.by spraying at this time. 
Not only that, but the apple scab fungus which is in the height of its de- 
velopment at this time is greatly and sometimes almost entirely checked 
at this period. The point then is to be ready with spraying apparatus and 
solutions to attack these two enemiesat this critical moment; in a few days 
the young larvae will have entered the forming apple and be beyond our 
reach with Paris green; in a few days, too, the apple scab fungus may 
have reached so far in its development as already to attack the young 
apples or their stems, in which case the food supply would be cut off 
and the fruit fall prematurely, as was the case in 1898. A loss of more 
than $3,000,000 to the fruit growing industry of this state would have 
been saved had the Illinois orchardists sprayed their trees during that 
season. This was abundantly proved by experiments conducted at this 
Station and by the fact that several orchards in this state which were so 
treated gave handsome returns to their owners. 

(4) A third application of this Bordeaux-Paris green mixture will 
be advisable and in fact’ necessary should the season prove a wet one. 
The more moisture, other things being equal, the more readily will the 
apple scab fungus develop. This means that as soon as the shower has 
passed the spraying machines are started and kept going until again pre- 
vented by rain. Patience and persistency are the things which count 
for most in this work. It is a question, too, of dollars and cents with 
the grower, and where in Illinois is there a man attempting to grow 
apples who would not gladly spend from seven to fifteen cents per tree 
when thereby he would get from one hundred to five hundred per cent. 
more fruit? This spraying then is simply a business proposition, for the 
fruit grower who is growing the fruit for the income it brings him. With- 
out perfect fruit there is no money in the business, and the only way to 
secure perfect fruit is to spray in a businesslike and systematic way. 
But as we have already said spraying is not only necessary in order to 
secure perfect fruit, but quite often even any fruit, as was the case 
in 1808. 


390 BULLETIN NO. 59. [Apr el, 


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7900. } ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 391 


(5) A fourth application during some seasons will be found advis- 
able and may be made in one or two weeks after the third application. 
The third one following in a week or ten days after the second. 

(6) These applications above referred to will be found sufficient to 
keep in check other forms of fungus andiinsect enemies, but in the case 
of the rots attacking mainly the fruit, later applications will be necessary. 
This is also true of the canker worm and other leaf-eating insects which 
may make their appearance. In such cases, however, special solutions 
other than those above referred to will doubtless be needed. 


SoLuTIONS, How Mapek. - 


(1) Normal Bordeaux mixture has its ingredients in this propor- 
tion: Copper sulphate, 6 lb.; quick lime, 4 lb.; water, 45 or 50 
gallons. 

This mixture should be made fresh as it is needed, for it loses its 
fungicidal value in a day or two after mixing. It is therefore convenient 
to make up stock solutions of the copper sulphate and lime separately. 
This is done by dissolving the copper sulphate or blue vitriol, as it. is 
commonly called, in water at the rate of one Ib. to the gallon. The 
quick lime may also be prepared at the rate of one lb. to the gallon. 
As.the copper sulphate dissolves slowly in cold water it should be sus- 
pended near the surface of the same, otherwise hot water would be nec- 
essary. The following detailed directions may be found helpful: Weigh 
out 50 lb. of copper sulphate. Put this in a grain sack and suspend 
in the top of a fifty gallon barrel of water. As the crystals dissolve the 
solution settles to the bottom. This will require twelve or fifteen hours. 
Stir up the solution and take six gallons of the liquid, which gives 
the six Ib. of copper sulphate. Pour this into the fifty gallon barrel to 
which is attached the spray pump. If a larger vessel is used take out a 
proportionate amount. Next slack fifty lb. of stone or quick lime in 
fifty gallons of water. When the slacking is complete add four gallons 
of this solution to the six gallons of copper sulphate already put into 
the spraying barrel. Now add sufficient water to make up the fifty gal- 
lons, stirring while doing this. If two or three teams are to be kept 
going several such vessels of stock solutions may be preparing, or larger 
vessels used. 

(2) A weaker Bordeaux solution may be made by using 4 lb. of 
copper sulphate, 4 lb. of lime and 50 gallons of water. This solution 
is to be used for the third and fourth applications and where No. 1 is 
found to burn the foliage. 

(3) Paris green, 1 lb.; 150-250 gals. of water. 

Do not put the dry Paris green powder into water expecting to mix 
it thoroughly therein. Put one pound of this powder into a gallon jug 
then fill the same two-thirds full of water. Cork and churn the jug 


BULLETIN NO. 59. 


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Z900. | ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 393 


violently for a few minutes when every particle of the powder will be 
‘brought in contact with the water. Add this concentrated solution in 
such proportion as to give the desired amount to the larger quantity of 
liquid, with which it will readily and thoroughly mix. In other words, 
after thoroughly mixing, fill the jug, then pour out one quart of the 
solution which will contain four ounces of the powder in suspension. 
This four ounces is the quantity required for the fifty gallons of Bor- 
deaux already made. 

(4) Bordeaux-Paris green solution:— 

Copper sulphate, 4 to 6 lb. 
Quick lime, 4 lb. 
Paris green, 4 0z. 
Water, 50 gallons. 
(5) Arsenite of lime solution:— 
White arsenic, 1 lb. 
Quick lime, 2 Ib. 
Water, 4 gallons. 

This latter is a stock solution which should be kept in a closed 
vessel. It should be boiled forty-five minutes and a small quantity of 
iron tannic* added to give it a black color, thus making its poisonous 
nature apparent or at least calling attention to that fact. Three quarts 
of this concentrated solution will be sufficient for each fifty gallons of 
spraying solution and may take the place of the four ounces of Paris 
green in No. 4 above. Being much more effective than the Paris green 
and only one-third as expensive it is to berecommended. The greatest 
care, however, should be exercised in its preparation and in cleaning all 
vessels which have contained the same, thus avoiding danger from 
poison. Because of the danger resulting from its use in careless hands 
it is to be hoped that all drug stores may prepare the concentrated solu- 
tion, selling the same in preference to the unmixed materials. 

(6) Various substitutes for Paris green, other than the arsenite of 
lime, are upon the market,.but so far we do not feel warranted in recom- 
mending them. 5 

MACHINERY. 


Never buy a cheap iron pump for spraying purposes. It rarely 
lasts long and, moreover, is attacked by the copper sulphate or Bor- 
deaux solutions. The desirable points in a pump may be summed up as 
follows: All working parts should be made of brass. There should be 
no leather orrubber valves. There should be no stuffing-box nor should 
the parts be fastened together with iron bolts or screws. In fact, the 
brass or alloy pumps are in the end the cheapest, since they are in every 


*Iron tannic may be made by-dissolving 15 grains tannic acid in 6 oz. water then 
adding 1 dram of tincture of iron. This will color several gallons of the arsenite of 
lime. 


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BULLETIN NO. 59. 


394 


7900. } ORCHARD MANAGEMENT. 395" 


way more durable, and are not corroded by the liquids used or:by sim- 
ple exposure. A pump that stands above the barrel or has any projec- 
tion whatever is unsteady, especially when there is little solution in the 
barrel; and moreover it is likely to catch on the limbs and bea nuisance 
generally. 

The Eclipse pump, manufactured by Morrill & Morley, of Benton 
Harbor, Michigan, has been found at this station to be one of the best 
pumps on the market. Those parts of the machine coming in contact 
with the liquid are brass. 

The pump should be mounted on a fifty gallon oil cask or a wooden 
tank especially prepared for the purpose. Each pump. should be pro- 
vided with two leads of hose with brass shut-offs at the pump and also 
at the base of the bamboo rod. The bamboo extensions or rods are for 
the purpose of carrying the nozzle up into the tops of the trees, thereby 
insuring a more thorough job than could be otherwise done. They are 
light, durable, and an indispensable acquisition to spraying apparatus. 
The nozzle used may be the double Vermorel nozzle, which gives a 
fine misty spray and is without doubt the best nozzle in the market. 
Rubber tubing of hose 3 inch or % inch, three or four ply, is necessary 
and can be bought for from twelve to twenty cents per foot. The 
cheaper grade of hose should never be used for spraying purposes. The 
other accessories in the way of apparatus are brass couplings: and hose 
clamps, reducers and pipe tongs, monkey wrench, hammer, etc. 

Another very important acquisition is the copper strainer, twelve 
inches in diameter with brass wire cloth mesh, through which all spray- 
ing solutions should be strained to prevent particles of dirt, lime or 
other material from entering the pump and clogging the nozzles. Bur- 
lap or other cloth strainers should not be depended upon. 

In order to make the work as agreeable and expeditious as possible 
all of these accessories above described and perhaps others should be 
provided without fail. When this is done and the operator goes about 
his work knowingly, that is—knowing what he is spraying for—the work | 
is simple and an actual pleasure because of the ten-fold benefits derived 
therefrom. | 

In this brief description no attempt has been made to tell how to 
combat all of the many nuisances with which the fruit grower has to 
contend. Having confined our attention to the two most destructive 
enemies of the apple orchard the way will have been made easier for a 
clear understanding of the operations necessary in contending with other 
diseases and insects; information concerning which will be given gladly 


upon application. 
JosEPpH CULLEN BLaiIrR, 


Assistant Horticulturist. 


390 BULLETIN NO. 59. [April, 1900. 


DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 


Figure No. 1 is a photograph taken in July, 1899, showing a six-year old Illinois 
orchard. The trees were small and very unhealthy looking. With the exception of 
small circles around the trees no cultivation has been given; heavy crops of hay have 
been taken off annually. Note the weeds at the left which are nearly as high as the 
trees themselves. Compare this view with photograph No. 2. 

Figure No. 2. This is a photograph taken in July, 1899, in the seven-year old 
orchard at the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Illinois, The 
trees had an abundance of green, luxuriant and healthy looking foliage. Note the 
absence of grass and weeds. This orchard has been given clean cultivation con- 
stantly and has been sprayed. Compare this view with Figure No. 1. 

Figure No. 3. A viewin an Illinois orchard where the land has been overcrowded, 
being obliged to support apple trees thirty feet each way, with pears, peaches, 
small fruit, grass and weeds besides. Such overcrowding is asking too much of any 
soil unless thoroughly cultivated and manured, and even then the advisability of such 
a practice is questionable. 

Figure No. 4. A photograph taken last September in Mr. Aldrich’s old apple 
orchard at Neoga, Illinois. Note the fine healthy appearance of these old trees due 
to thorough cultivation, spraying and pruning. This orchard produces annually 
heavy crops of fruit. Compare this view with Figure No. 3 and Figure No. 5. 

Figure No. 5. A photograph taken last September in an Illinois orchard. This 
shows defoliated trees and small sized inferior fruit resulting from lack of cultivation 
and spraying. Compare with Figures No. 4 and No. 6. 

Figure No. 6. A photograph taken in September in the old orchard at the Uni- 
versity of Illinois. This view shows the result of careful cultivation, spraying and 
pruning. Compare with Figure No. 5. 

Figure No. 7. A photograph of an Illinois orchard showing the difference in 
size of trees resulting from a difference in method of treatment. The trees on the 
right are stunted and are much inferior to those on the left, which are the same age. 
This dwarfing is due to the injudicious cropping of the land with oats and for one 
season only. 

Figure No. 8. This photograph shows a renovated old apple tree in Mr. 
Aldrich’s orchard. Note the healthy foliage and good supply of excellent fruit 
resulting from careful pruning together with cultivation and spraying. 

Figure No. 9. This photograph shows, at the left, nine Winesap apples which 
were the best to be found on unsprayed trees; at the right are shown nine of the best 
fruit of the same variety taken from adjoining rows which were sprayed. Three each 
of these sets were selected independently by the three gentlemen, Mr. Jolly, Mr. 
Aldrich and Mr. R. A Simpson, while visiting the latter’s orchard in Richland 
county, Illinois, last July. These well illustrate the character of fruit produced upon 
the sprayed and unsprayed portion of Mr. Simpson's orchard. 


17 


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